Tag Archives: books

Concertino in F

Gaetano Donizetti Concertino in F for English Horn and Orchestra

Concertino in F

Previously known only through a spurious edition in G Major, the authentic Concertino in F was discovered in Italy by Pedro Díaz, a member of Local 802 (New York City) and English hornist with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. He prepared this edition by comparing multiple historical sources and an intimate knowledge of Donizetti’s works. The publication includes extensive historical notes.

Gaetano Donizetti Concertino in F for English Horn and Orchestra, edited by Pedro Díaz, piano reduction by Mark Biggam, historical notes by Michael Finkelman, Theodore Presser Company, www.presser.com.

college prep for musicians

College Prep for Musicians: A Comprehensive Guide for Students, Parents, Teachers, and Counselors

college prep for musicians

This one-of-a-kind book gives a complete picture of the process of applying to music schools. College Prep for Musicians decodes the complex process of choosing schools, clarifies vocabulary around the admission process, and shows students exactly how to prepare their best audition. Young musicians will be able to follow detailed plans to get organized and to communicate with music schools and conservatories. This book provides tools, teaches habits, and demonstrates skills that students can use for the rest of their careers.

College Prep for Musicians: A Comprehensive Guide for Students,
Parents, Teachers, and Counselors, by Annie Bosler of Local 47 (Los Angeles, CA), Don Greene, and Kathleen Tesar, Performance Mastery Project, www.collegeprepformusicians.com.

The Flutist’s Handbook

The Flutist’s Handbook: The Art of Staying in Shape

The Flutist’s Handbook

Virtuoso flutist Robert Stallman shares his approach to “staying in shape” for students and professionals alike. Part I includes 24 invigorating melodic détaché warm-ups drawn from sequences of Bach, Schubert, Dvořák, and others. Part II is a collection of 15 short melodies designed to open and center the tone, while encouraging full breath support. All of the warm-ups are to be played forte and piano in every major key, proceeding chromatically by rising half-steps.

The Flutist’s Handbook: The Art of Staying in Shape, by Robert Stallman, Carl Fischer, www.carlfischer.com.

odyssey for two guitars

Odyssey for Two Guitars

odyssey for two guitars

Classical guitarist Frederic Hand, a member of Local 802 (New York City), has received critical acclaim for his international solo performances. His playing can be heard on the scores of numerous films. This piece was first presented by Hand when he traveled to the island of Crete to perform at a guitar festival. “The title refers both to my trip to Greece and also to the way in which the musical ideas interact with each other and evolve throughout their long journey,” says Hand.

Odyssey for Two Guitars, by Frederic Hand, Handwerks Music,
www.presser.com.

Friedrich Nietzsche: Selected Works for Piano

Friedrich Nietzsche: Selected Works for Piano (Piano Solo and Piano, Four Hands)

Friedrich Nietzsche: Selected Works for Piano

Though largely self-taught, Friedrich Nietzsche had a remarkable talent for improvisation. As a teenager, he studied theory and composed voraciously. Friendship with Richard Wagner influenced his later work. This collection, prepared from Nietzsche’s manuscripts, includes 19 pieces for piano, which he composed from 1857 to 1874. Also included is an essay explaining the composer’s unique reconciliation of the disciplines of philosophy and music.

Friedrich Nietzsche: Selected Works for Piano (Piano Solo and Piano, Four Hands), compiled and edited by Nicholas Hopkins, Carl Fischer, www.carlfischer.com.

the flute audition

The Flute Audition: The New Essential Companion

the flute audition

Compiled by internationally renowned orchestral and solo flutist Henrik Wiese, this collection of orchestral excerpts was created to help young musicians everywhere in their preparation for auditions. He sourced repertoire lists from job advertisements past and present and referred to other audition lists to pull together audition repertoire for opera houses, symphonies, or chamber orchestras. Wiese also looks into practical matters like page turns and metronome markings in this book with text in English, German, and French.

The Flute Audition: The New Essential Companion, edited by Henrik Wiese, Universal Edition, www.universaledition.com.

klezmer duets: violin & accordion

Klezmer Duets: Violin & Accordion

klezmer duets: violin & accordion

This book with text and notes in English, French, and German contains 10 intermediate, traditional klezmer pieces arranged for violin and accordion by klezmer specialists Deborah Strauss (violin) and Alan Bern (accordion). The pair includes invaluable notes on phrasing and articulation for each instrument, which are given equal importance in the pieces.

Klezmer Duets: Violin & Accordion by Deborah Strauss and Alan Bern,  Universal Edition, www.universaledition.com

My Years with Townes Van Zandt

My Years with Townes Van Zandt: Music, Genius, and Rage

My Years with Townes Van Zandt

The book’s author, Harold Eggers, Jr., was Townes Van Zandt’s road manager and producer for more than 20 years. A year before Van Zandt died at age 52, Eggers started working with the musician on his autobiography. Van Zandt revealed his life, music, creativity, demons, and inner soul in detail to Eggers, saying, “the most important thing is to tell the truth, no matter what. I want everyone to feel my pain. Let all the ghosts and demons have their say. That’s what I’ve done my whole life.” This is the book Van Zandt asked Eggers to write.

My Years with Townes Van Zandt: Music, Genius, and Rage,
by Harold F. Eggers, Jr., with L. E. McCullough, Backbeat Books,
www.backbeatbooks.com

Robert Russell Bennett Chamber Music

Robert Russell Bennett Chamber Music

Robert Russell Bennett Chamber Music

For seven decades, New York City composer Robert Russell Bennett orchestrated and composed a long list of concert works, including work on some 300 Broadway and London productions. This series—Water Music (1937), Clarinet Quartet (1941), Six Souvenirs (1948), String Quartet (1956)—is dedicated to Bennett’s unpublished works.

Robert Russell Bennett Chamber Music, edited by Janet Schlein Somers and Paul Mack Somers, Maurice River Press, mauriceriverpress.com.

Speaking for Ourselves

Speaking for Ourselves: Conversations on Life, Music, and Autism

Speaking for Ourselves

When ethnomusicologist Michael Bakan saw the transformative effect of music on a young relative with Asperger’s syndrome, he created a music-and-play project for children on the autism spectrum. These included the Music-Play Project (2005-2009) and Artism Ensemble (2011-2013). In this book, he continues to explore the link between autism and musical talents and affinities, delivering a powerful statement on neurodiversity and autistic self-advocacy through 10 conversations with people aged seven to 47.

Speaking for Ourselves: Conversations on Life, Music, and Autism, by Michael B. Bakan, Oxford University Press, www.oup.com/us.